1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to electric heating, cutting or disintegrating and more particularly to devices for mounting a disintegrator to a support.
2. Background of the Invention:
Various types of tool positioners which are adjustable about an axis have been known to the prior art. Such adjustable units have been used to position electrodes in disintegrators to enable welding current to burn away or disintegrate a broken drill or tap in a hole of a workpiece. In many cases a workpiece represents a substantial investment in both material and machining costs. It is therefore desirable to remove the broken drill or tap from such a partially completed workpiece.
In order to operate a disintegrator device it is imperative that the electrode be axially aligned relative to the hole containing the broken drill or tap. A rotatable locking unit between the support and the disintegrator head enables rotation of the disintegrator head with a limited amount of friction to axially align the disintegrator electrode with the hole. A quick lock mechanism is required for securing the orientation of the electrode. There have been such devices in the prior art but none of them have completely satisfied the conditions of the disintegrator art. For example, in many applications the disintegrator head must be electrically insulated from the support. In addition, the locking mechanism must be able to sustain the weight of the disintegrator head and then lock the orientation of the disintegrator head without causing movement thereof during the locking process. A further requirement of the disintegrator art is to provide 360 degree rotation for the disintegrator head. Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support wherein locking is accomplished by the rotation of a nut without any eccentric element.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support which may provide various frictional forces between a first and a second housing to allow accurate adjustment therebetween.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support which is easily adaptable to existing disintegrator housings.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support which is readily adaptable for insulating the disintegrator electrode from the support.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support which is economical and reliable.